[JandS]

New V16 controller is cutting off battery at about 12.4 when it should be 10.5.......bought the new controller because old one was doing same....any ideas why?

[windowswashed]

Is your calibration setting high as mine will cut off after long periods of use if too high.

[Spruce]

New V16 controller is cutting off battery at about 12.4 when it should be 10.5.......bought the new controller because old one was doing same....any ideas why?

I'd be looking at the battery. The controller probably is cutting off at 10.5v, but by the time you have got back to the back to the van to check, the voltage in the battery has recovered.

I experience this same symptoms when running my diesel heater a few years ago.

If you can run your pump and watch the battery voltage at the moment the controller shuts down, you be probably see the voltage drop.

If you hadn't replaced your old controller, then I would have suggested that maybe you have a bad connection, usually at the fuse holder. But in your case, the battery has to be the first suspect. That's what I would be focused on. Your battery is the common denominator.

How old is the battery and is it fully charged? If you put it on charge when you get home, does it become fully charged very quickly?

As the battery ages, it looses capacity due to sulphation. So a 110amp battery can end up having just 20 amps of usable power.  If you have a split relay charging system on the van, it could well be that the journeys between jobs help to mask the problem.

[JandS]

Yes battery is about 2.5 years old......it lasted longer today......but had a new one with me as well.....going to put new one on all day tomorrow see if it lasts if so must be battery.

[Spruce]

Yes battery is about 2.5 years old......it lasted longer today......but had a new one with me as well.....going to put new one on all day tomorrow see if it lasts if so must be battery.

I vividly recall being in the same situation shortly after going wfp. I was pretty sure it was the battery, but I still had doubts. I didn't really want to throw the proverbial parts cannon at the problem until a solution finally stuck. I procrastinated about ordering a new battery for a few days before finally pulling the trigger and ordering a new battery online. A new battery solved the problem, so I was very grateful.

Of course, I could have run a power cable from the van's starter battery directly to the pump controller, but for some reason I didn't think of that at the time. The split charge relay I was using at the time had a terminal which was always on, so it wasn't difficult to move the controller's power supply from the leisure battery to this terminal.

I later fitted a Victron battery monitor on the van. It would immediately record any voltage drops on its histroy graph. I often use this same graph to see how many times a night the frostat kicks the diesel heater on  in winter.

[JandS]

Bench charge mine in garage every night.

[Rob.Hall]

I found mine was a lose wire which was hardly noticeable at the time.